A Country Rag-- Country Reckoning

A Country Rag Country Reckoning

Three Poems

by Lori Brenner

Graphic: stone church in the mountaintop village of Blowing Rock, NC, whose galleries, shops and architecture preserve skilled craft traditions of Appalachia.





My Retreat










I look over the mountain's edge, across the valley.

Patterns of color lay like a patchwork quilt beneath me.

An eagle finds an updraft,

Screaming delight as it circles overhead.

I hear the constant babbling of a stream,

Wearing down the rocks with its conversation.

The wind winds fingers through my hair.

A woodpecker hammers out its classical song.

I fill my lungs with fresh air, crisp and clean.

My soul drinks the nectar of nature's beauty.

My retreat welcomes me again.

Graphic: painting from a collection of self-portraits by various, mostly anonymous artists, Museum of Appalachian Culture, ASU, Boone, NC

Go Alone But With You Hold my hand, as far as you can, I will tell you when to let go. We will stand in awe at the crossroads, But from here I will be alone. I hope I will be in your thoughts, As you are in mine, For then I will not go single, You walk in my mind.

Graphic: Appalachian foothills along the TN-NC border.

Half A Year The rich golden sun Gathers now on these green leaves. A mosaic of color Turns the Earth to spring. Wind-fingers spun along forest walks, They waft soft hairs gently down. Summer sings of green time. The fall print seems heavy now, Conscious skies of russet and heather Through crackling limbs.

Lori Brenner is a 16-year-old Appalachian high school student with a love of nature and a talent for verse. Contact her by e-mail at kilin@cheerful.com .

Graphic: In daily use, a preserved 19th century covered bridge allows passage over the Doe River to and from the restored town of Elizabethton, TN

Word Preserve -- A Country Rag Index

LinkExchange Member

Free Home Pages at GeoCities